Life, not Money

"In wildness is the preservation of the world" ~Henry David Thoreau In the natural order of things, the only value is life. The only good, the only holy thing is life. But since everything is alive or contributes to life, everything is holy and everything is good in it's proper place.

In Man's artificial order of things, the only value is money and the things money buys. Natural human values only persist because, without them, the consumerist machine would collapse. And yet, economic values continue to squeeze those natural values to extinction, because natural values don't produce profit. Parents continue to raise and care for their children despite the fact that economic pressures make it near impossible to do, despite the fact that mothers must work and cannot be there for their children, despite the fact that the consumer brainwashing of the mass media induces people to value things over beings.

Animals

An example of the disregard of natural values is our treatment of food animals. Animals in the wild or on a small farm are eaten by people the same as those in huge industrial feedlots, but the animals in the wild or on a small farm do not spend their entire lives as grist for some hellish industrial mill. Animals in the wild or on a small farm can see the sun, smell the rain, live a life. Animals in a modern industrial plant, however, no doubt welcome death as a better alternative than their suffering existence. I do not promote vegetarianism: animals eating animals are part of nature. But these demonic meat plants are a crime against life. They are Dachau's for animals.
"Contrast the Cartesian view to the view prevalent in all pagan cultures, that animals are our brothers and possessed of spiritual powers." ~From a letter to a friend Almost all primitive cultures were meat-eaters to some degree, but all of them revered animals. American Indians asked forgiveness of an animal's spirit before releasing their bows, and other primitive cultures did similarly. Animals are not meat machines to be abused without consideration. Bring them death if you must, but do not degrade them during their lives. Even we humans could scarcely ask for more.

The Family

Until this century, all societies acknowledged the fact that the family was the society in microcosm, and that as the family went, so went the nation. Mothers carried their babes into the fields with them, and the whole family worked within earshot of each other. Now, even though many families could survive on one income, peer pressure to participate in conspicuous consumption can make one a pariah for putting their family first. When a child comes to school with hand-me-down clothes and no-name sneakers, even though that child is well cared for and loved, both teachers and students think their parents are depriving them. No wonder more parents are home-schooling. Not to mention all the well-meaning but ignorant friends and relatives who don't understand why Johnny can't get new Reeboks.

The greatest damage done by consumerist values is done to the residents of the inner cities. One would think that those who the system has rewarded the least would be more likely to abandon it's values, but in fact a bizarre exaggeration of consumer values has taken hold there. People in the ghettos often buy new cars when their children are malnourished and live in rat-infested apartments. Some kill others to steal their status symbols, like gold-plated rims and expensive shoes. The well-heeled drug dealers are their heroes. Even while undermining consumerist society, they hold to it's fundamental value of money. If we fail to maintain a place for natural values in our society, this could be the future of the world. It's motto could be, "Money talks, and life's cheap".

The Environment

It is becoming increasingly obvious that human beings are wreaking unprecedented havoc on the environment. Weather patterns are changing, more and more forest is falling under the chain saw, the oceans from which all life arose are becoming more and more polluted and overfished. We rightly bemoan the disappearance of forests in the third world for firewood, and yet we buy millions of tons of supermarket tabloids every year and turn beautiful and needed forests into useless trash.

But then why should we treat Nature any different than we treat our own bodies, for many of us poison ourselves with the same death-loving glee that we inflict on Mother Earth. Many of us use our bodies for little more than pushing buttons and lifting a beer can, even though we must surely know this is a recipe for illness and early death. Others use drugs or invite deadly diseases through sharing needles or unsafe sexual habits. We gobble empty and artificial foods, and have eating addictions. Truly, we are doing to ourselves what we are doing to the earth, polluting and destroying it.

Rather than commute on foot, bicycle, or mass transit, we ride one to a car: filling our atmosphere with pollutants and causing millions of acres to be paved over for parking lots and extra roads. In most cities in America, bicyclists ride at a significant hazard to their own life and limb because of thoughtless motorists: and yet the bicyclists are the ones helping to reduce pollution and keep themselves healthy. We spend billions on a decaying health care system that could radically be reduced if people lived a natural way of life. The millions of beds that are taken up by people who have harmed themselves by alcohol, drugs, poor nutrition, sedentary lifestyles, and other unhealthy habits could be emptied.

But you cannot expect people who are living in a man-made environment to live in accordance with the way of nature. Either one must give way to the other, or they must exist in perpetual conflict. And Nature has few weapons with which to wage this war, except total environmental collapse: which will lay waste both the works of Man and those of Nature.

The Way of Nature

Some may say, "define your terms! What are these natural values you are talking about?" Values which further the well being of people and the living system of the earth as a whole are natural values.

1. Kill only for need, not for frivolous desires.
This means everything: Trees, butterflies, humans, everything. There are different standards for different creatures, of course: you can kill a deer to feed your family, but obviously you shouldn't kill a neighbor to eat him.

2. Don't spoil basic resources.
Don't use the bathroom in the community well, don't leave dead animals to rot in streams, don't strip-mine a hillside and leave the mess for someone else to clean up.

3. Value beings more than things.
Think twice before turning that meadow into a parking lot: that's somebody's home. Parking lots turn living land into permanent deserts. If you want to kill a cockroach that's crawling on your bed, okay: but don't kill a bug just because you can. Don't support the destruction of forests by buying newspapers: get the news off the 'Net instead. Take care of your children, even if you have to accept a lower standard of living.

4. Use your body: that's what it is there for.
Your body was never designed to sit in a chair all day. If it is practical and desirable for you to do so, get a job where you can use your body, or else spend a significant part of your free time in physical activity. You will be healthier and happier for it.

5. Toughen yourself
In modern society, we have many layers of separation between us and the sometimes harsh environment outdoors. We have air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter; we stay indoors all day away from the elements. However, this has several negative consequences:

First of all, indoor environmental control requires energy, which often comes from coal- or oil-fired power plants. These damage the environment both in their methods of mining and in their burning.

Second, if the air-conditioning or heating should go out, and if it is very hot or very cold, you could find yourself in a life-threatening situation. If you are not acclimatized to the environment, a lack of heating or air-conditioning could spell death.

Thirdly, subjecting yourself to the stress of coping with the environment builds up your body's ability to regulate it's own temperature, and may make your body stronger just as the stress of exercise makes your body stronger. Obviously, though, common sense must be your guide. Excess exposure to the sun can cause skin cancer, and heat stroke or frostbite are no party.

Also in a general sense, we are insulated from discomfort in a variety of ways. Becoming less sensitive to discomfort and inconvenience makes us more adapted to a variety of situations, and being less luxury-addicted can save us unnecessary expense.

6. Pursue inner objectives.
People spend their whole lives pursuing status and wealth, but if this is all that their lives are based on, they inevitably end up empty and unhappy. But building up the one possession you are sure to have your whole life, yourself, has no end of rewards and is open to all. Cultivating your own strength, kindness, and wisdom need use no natural resources and can increase your resistance to the negative influences of our society.

7. Death is part of life.
There is no tragedy in the end of a life well lived. We should not seek to prolong the life beyond the point where it can be worthwhile. If at the end of a long and fruitful life, the body is shutting down, and if the prospect of more fruitful years is slim, we should let a person die at home among friends and family. To die in an institution is the ultimate insult to life. Moreover, we should let the family honor their dead in whatever way they see fit, without needless harrassment by members of the funeral home industry. If a man wants to be buried in a simple pine box, he should be allowed. The playacting of the funerary profession is an obscenity.

8. Eat what nature intended, and not too much.
You know the old rule, "don't eat what you can't identify"? Well, if you read a food package and see something there that you can't identify, like polysorbate 60, why are you eating it? Natural unprocessed products are cheaper and better for you. Also, any food upon being digested creates toxins which your body has to get rid of, so overeating not only can make you fat, it puts a strain on the parts of your body responsible for waste disposal.

9. Follow Nature's clock
Waking at sunrise or a little before and going to sleep at sunset or a little after not only is good for you, it keeps you from burning your lights into the night and so saves electricity. Also, by sleeping and waking up at the same times every day (yes, weekends too), you will find that you wake up without difficulty and are more rested.

10. CONSERVE YOUR ENERGY
There are a million things competing for your attention on a given day, and innumerable worries that might occur to your mind. All these things rob you of needed energy, and can make you sick. To start conserving your energy, try the following suggestions:

1. Stop worrying. Especially avoid worrying about things you cannot do anything about.

2. Turn off the T.V. and keep it off. Avoid reading the newspaper if the news distracts or upsets you.

3. Learn to spot when you are tense, and apply relaxation techniques. These are easy to learn and you can find information about relaxation techniques in books and on the 'Net.

4. Don't be afraid to ignore others if they are laying their own head trips on you. Be mean about it if you have to.

5. Practices like Tai Chi and Chi Gong can increase your energy. Exercise and fresh air also can be a restorative.

What can be done?

You may think that it is pointless to attempt to do anything about the global problem of a Mankind out of touch with life, but in fact the problem encompasses you as well as the rest of the planet, and adopting a natural way of life has benefits to you as well as the planet.

Things everyone can do

Stop watching television. Don't let corporate materialistic values enter your household. Use only the amount of electricity you really need. Unless you are reading or performing minor surgery, turn off the lights. Purchase only what you really need. Don't subscribe to daily newspapers unless you absolutely have to. Eat natural whole foods rather than extensively packaged and processed foods. Buy in bulk. Remember, a tree got cut down to make that useless food package. Put yourself, your family, your friends, and your mother Earth before status, wealth, and possessions. Support measures to reduce world population growth and support a zero-immigration policy in your own country. Overpopulated countries will be more motivated to deal with their population problems if they cannot shift excess population on to other countries.

Things people can do if they feel it's appropriate for them

There are a huge number of resources on the web on homesteading and sustainable living. Living on and with the land is the most ideal state for realizing natural values, and is especially desirable for families. Sure, some people need to live in cities, and cities aren't all bad, but living with nature is a great way to put ideals of living in harmony with nature into practice. It's also a gigantic step to take, and not to be taken lightly. One great source for info on homesteading is the homestead list. Getting on the list is easy: send an email to: listproc@listserv.oit.unc.edu and put

subscribe homestead your name

in the body of the email.

For those who want to live sustainably in a more community-oriented setting, there are a number of intentional communities devoted to sustainable living. Most are a tad liberal for my taste, but your tastes may differ. Check out the Intentional Communities Web Site. New communities of various types are forming all the time, and there are also some with a proven track record of decades, which is not a trivial consideration. Not all intentional communities are pot-smoke-enshrouded leftovers from the sixties.

In conclusion...

The most important thing in helping to restore natural values to the world is not to be taken in by anti-natural values yourself. The present priorities of our civilization tend to be anti-natural and money-worshipping because we allow them to be. Don't cooperate with consumerism. Will the economy collapse if we all abandon consumerism? Maybe for a while, but the system will eventually adapt to providing products that serve human needs and don't needlessly damage the earth.
"In a world where money can buy anything, a purposefully spartan way of life may be the ultimate chic and the ultimate rebellion." ~From the Pagan/Tao thread in Dialogues

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